


The Heart of a Thief

by DragonRose35



Category: Kingsman (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superpowers, Angst, Fluff, Hurt Eggsy, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Male Slash, Polyamory, Threesome (Relationship) - M/M/M, Valentine is a dick, Worried Harry, Worried Merlin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-22
Updated: 2016-11-22
Packaged: 2018-09-01 14:29:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8628091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DragonRose35/pseuds/DragonRose35
Summary: Eggsy is a mutant that can shift from human to a cat- he’s also a thief and when he goes after something he shouldn’t have, he gets caught. Luckily though, Aodhán, another mutant- with telekinetic and telepathic abilities- comes to his rescue.Unfortunately Eggsy’s happy ever after doesn’t happen quite just yet.





	

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I have no fucking idea what this is oh my God. Also, Harry is human, sorry Harry~ *laughs*
> 
> ~ D.C.

Bright green eyes glowed beneath the full moon high above, the small golden feline the eyes belonged to perched atop an ornate fence that shielded a rather large manor that held priceless artifacts owned by rich posh shitheads with spoons up their arses. His tail flicked back and forth lazily, as if he were merely resting, but that was hardly the case, as the green eyes took in every entrance and security measure that was visible to him at his vantage point.

Two guards were stationed at the main entrance and four other guards were patrolling the perimeter around the manor itself. Not to mention the two snipers positioned on top of the manor and the cat snorted at that, wondering if that wasn’t just a little too much for a place like this. Then again, the man that owned the house was none other than Richmond Valentine himself, so that hardly surprised the cat that he’d go to such great lengths to protect whatever was inside.

He’d been casing this particular manor for several weeks now, eager to get his paws inside and on some of the treasure housed inside. He knew he had to be careful though, because one wrong step and he’d be caught, or worse. Killed.

Killed was the likeliest of options, given the dislike that the man had for mutants like him- humans with superpowers, like his ability to shift into a cat.

His tail flicked once in quick agitation before he finally stilled it and his ears laid back against his head, kneading his claws against the sharp steel of the fence beneath them. One… two… three- he jumped down, landing silently in the ground, avoiding trip wires and silent alarms, as well as motion sensors with ease.

This wasn’t the first house he’d robbed, after all. And though he may only be a young man of twenty four years, he’d been stealing from the rich since he was eleven, when his mother was taken from him by a man that hated mutants with a violent passion. Even more so than Valentine, which was saying something.

Darting around a guard, the cat jumped through an open window, landing in what looked like a sitting room and he breathed out a sigh of relief. There was only one time he’d caught himself in a room he hadn’t known was in the house and that was three years ago when he tried stealing from another mutant’s house. Never again. Making his way silently through the house, he avoided guards and cameras and traps alike. When he finally reached the vault room, he grinned like a cat that got the canary and he hopped onto a bench, looking around and at all the treasure.

What caught his eye though was a single vial of green liquid stashed in a glass case and heavily guarded. Frowning, the cat shifted- from his cat form to a lanky human dressed in a cap, a jacket, and winged trainers- and he took a few cautious steps forward. “Wha…?” his eyes widened when he realized what the vial was- the liquid that Valentine announced on television that would ‘cure’ mutants of their vile disease and oh.

_ Fuck _ .

The young man turned sharply when he heard an alarm, almost silent- to human ears anyway- but it was as clear as day to his own senses. He shifted quickly into a cat again, just before a human guard barged in, gun raised. He seemed shocked and confused when he saw a lonely cat standing in the middle of the vault room and the cat took that chance to dart past him and into the hallways.

He never made it to the front door.

“Sir!” a sharp pain made itself known in his neck and he yowled, stumbling on his own paws. “There really was no need for that, Sir. It’s only just a cat.”

“My dear man, it is never just a cat,” Valentine himself said with a vicious smirk, eyes sparkling brightly as he stepped over the paralyzed mutant and he knelt down in front of him, pleased when he saw the pitiful, but violent, glare directed at him and he reached out and pet the soft lush fur at the base of his neck.

The cat was helpless to the unwanted touch, though he wanted so desperately to use his claws on the man.  _ Fuck… fuck you… _ the cat thought instead when Valentine picked him up by the scruff of his neck and then handed off his gun to the guard.

“Do call the police please. It would seem we have a little darling  _ stray _ in need a  _ nice, good, home. _ ” Home… meaning fucking prison.

-0-

The cat yowled and hissed at his handlers as he was deposited in an interrogation room, still in his animal form because they lacked the proper tech to force him to shift back into a human on the way to the station. When the door closed behind him he hissed at the two way mirror and darted into the corner of the room, where he could curl up and lick his wounds while still having a good vantage point of the rest of the room.

It wasn’t long before a short, fat police officer came in with a steel color that had a strange blue glow to part of it. The cat lashed out at him, terrified of the collar, but he was unable to do anything more than hiss and scratch and bite before the collar was inevitably put around his neck and a jolt that felt like he was being ripped apart went threw him.

“Aaaahhh!” Forced to shift back because of the tech, his powers were now useless and he clawed at the collar, tears in his eyes at the pain. The man seemed to revel in it, thinking he deserved the torture.

“Soon as you talk you can have that delightful collar removed, boy,” he said and the young man glared at him through tear filled eyes.

“Go ta ‘ell, mate,” he spat and the man narrowed his eyes, but then stood and shrugged.

“Stay in here and rot then, for all I care,” he snorted and left, leaving the young man all on his own.

Still huddled in the corner, he wrapped his arms around his legs and buried his face between his knees, trembling and jerking with every jolt of pain.

-0-

“What were you there to steal?”

Silence.

“Who sent you?”

More silence.

“Who is your contact, boy?” the man was growing impatient and the young mutant scowled at him, having ‘lost’ his voice about an hour into the interrogation. “Damn it, the sooner you talk the sooner you can be let go and the collar can be taken off.” the officer hissed at him and the young man tilted his head up, defiant, green eyes blazing in anger.

“I don’ grass on me mates,” he snarled back and the man scoffed.

“There isn’t any honor between thieves, so don’t delude yourself to that fact. If the situation were reversed, what do you think would happen?” the man smirked at him and the shifter rolled his eyes.

“You don’t know my mates, bruv,” he sneered and the man grew angered very quickly, reaching across the table to grab at the younger man’s jacket.

Before anything could be done though, the door opened and a tall man dressed impeccably in a suit and black rimmed glasses that seemed to bring out the life in bright brown eyes, entered. “Thank you, Officer James, but I will take it from here.” the man said, bleeding authority and just daring the officer to argue. Fortunately for the officer, he decided not to fight back and left quickly, only after throwing the young man against his chair, taking satisfaction in the fact that he fell back to the ground, hissing in pain at the hard contact.

The bald man seemed to take personal offense to that but did nothing until the door locked behind him.

The young man glared at him, keeping up his guard, but it was hard to do so when he felt the sheer power bleed from the other man, surrounding him in an embrace that made him feel…  _ safe _ . “Who are you?” he bristled when the man stepped closer but relaxed only a little when he heard the man’s voice- in his  _ head _ .

_ You have no reason to fear me, lad, _ he said, at the same time that he spoke out loud, “That is none of your concern. What is, however, is that I am here to transfer you somewhere else.”  _ My name is Aodhán. You’re safe with me, Eggsy. _ The young man- Eggsy’s- eyes widened at this, the fact that this man, Aodhán, knew his name.

“Where are you going to take me?” Eggsy asked, standing up slowly and the man stepped closer.

“That is none of your concern,” he said, before adding,  _ Somewhere no one can hurt you. Now, I can’t remove the collar without suspicion, not here, but I can relieve some of the pain if you’ll allow me. Blink once for yes, twice for no. _ Eggsy blinked, once, and the man relaxed just a fraction, seemingly relieved to know he’s being trusted. And really, Eggsy  _ shouldn’t _ trust him, but he  _ wanted _ to.

The man reached out and grabbed his arm, leading him to the door slowly, and when it buzzed open, he moved his hand from Eggsy’s arm to the small of his back and the mutant relaxed, finally relieved to have some of the pain being taken away.

_ Say not a word until we reach the car. I will answer any question you have then, and only then, am I understood? _ Eggsy blinked again, biting his lip to hold in the smile that wanted to surface. He only barely managed to succeed.

When they got to the car, Aodhán gently guided him inside the back before going around the the other side and getting in that way. The second the door was closed, the driver started off towards some unknown destination and Eggsy finally felt it was safe to start talking again. “Why’d ya help me escape?” he asked, curious as a cat can be, blinking wide green eyes at the man and Aodhán chuckled in answer.

“I’ve been watching you fer a while now, lad,” he said and Eggsy blinked, surprised, but surprisingly not threatened at the fact. “You have… a beautiful soul,” here the man sighed and he closed his eyes, clenching his fists against his pants. “I dislike, in general, the way those humans treat mutants but the way they treated you… it was inexcusable.”

“Ain’t you a mutant too? Why’d they let you take me away?” Eggsy asked and the man smiled at him.

“It helps, boyo, to have friends in very high places.” he said, amused and Eggsy grinned back before he frowned again, looking out the window.

“You prolly think ‘m an idiot fer getin’ caught like I did, huh?” Eggsy asked, sounding deflated and the man frowned, looking appalled at the suggestion.

“Not at all, especially considering the man you tried to steal from, pet,” Eggsy jerked his head back at the little endearment, but it doesn’t look like Aodhán realized what he had said. “Valentine is not a man ta be trifled with and he doesn’t take kindly ta intruders. Even more so when said intruders are mutants.”

“I know,” Eggys sighed his frustration. “But I’d cased that ‘ouse fer weeks an’ I thought I ‘ad it, ya know?” Eggsy slumped in his seat and closed his eyes, before frowning as he remembered something. “He… Valentine… he ‘as sumfin’, that… that ‘cure’ fer mutants an’ shit.”

“Aye,” Aodhán pinched the bridge of his nose, “but don’ ya worry lad, I have people that can take care of Valentine and his serum. We won’t have ta fear him soon enough.”

“When though?” Eggsy frowned, clenching his fists tightly. “A few days? A week, a month? A  _ year _ ? Soon enough won’ be soon enough when some poor innocent mutant gets caught ‘n the middle ‘a the whole shitfest. They’ll  _ die _ , an’ fer what?”

“I’ll hardly let an innocent get hurt, Eggsy, have no fear of that,” Aodhán said and even though Eggsy was doubtful, he dropped the subject.

“Where’ya takin’ me anyway? I feel like we’ve been goin’ round in circles at this point.” he sighed, looking back out the window, wondering just when the sun was going to come up.

Aodhán smiled at him, “My husband has a safe house, not far from here where I’ll take ya fer now.” he said and Eggys frowned, his heart plummeting.

“Husband? So yer married?” he asked and the older man nodded, digging out a small golden circle from his suit pocket.

“I’ve been married to Harry for fifteen years now, aye,” he said and Eggsy nodded dumbly, watching as Aodhán put the ring smoothly back on his finger.

“Oh…”

-0-

The house was a seemingly nondescript brick building squeezed in between others that looked exactly like it. The only thing that Eggsy noted that was different were the cameras hidden all over the front yard and he snorted, staring directly at one of them so as to say to the one watching them that he knew they were watching. “My, you are quite observant, pet, aren’t ya?” Aodhán smirked at him and with a hand on the small of his back again, the older man led the shifter up to the front door, pressing his thumb against the wide surface of the doorbell.

Eggsy’s eyes narrowed when he couldn’t hear the doorbell from inside and only startled a little when, the second that Aodhán lifted his thumb from the doorbell, the door swung open with a strange metallic click. “Oh…” blinking slowly, Eggys realized the doorbell was a thumbprint scanner that was connected to the mechanisms on the door. “That’s pretty fucking sick, guv,” he laughed, bouncing inside the second he was allowed and he turned to study the door some more before Aodhán closed it behind them. “You some sorta spy then? No fuckin’ way would ya ‘ave shit like this ‘f ya weren’.”

“Quite observant indeed, Aodhán,” Eggsy startled at the new voice and turned sharply, bristling, before he suddenly relaxed, eyes wide when he caught sight of the other bloke- with brown eyes like Aodhán’s, dressed in a red robe and sleep pants and slippers and with dark brown hair styled perfectly despite the casual get-up.

“ _ You _ !?” Eggsy was… well, shocked would be quite the understatement of the year. “Yer that bloke that’s been followin’ me for the last three years! What the fuck is goin’ on?!” Eggsy looked at Aodhán, feeling a little betrayed, but he relaxed again when Aodhán only smiled at them both before greeting the other man.

“Harry, my love, do ya mind putting on some tea for our guest?” Harry, the man that Aodhán was  _ married _ to, nodded and turned to go back into what looked like a kitchen. Aodhán led Eggsy into the sitting room and sat him down on the couch before stoking the fire and Eggsy was half tempted to shift and curl up in front of it when he felt the warmth of it across his skin.

That was, however, the moment he was reminded of the collar around his neck and he hissed, clawing at it again in his frustration. “I want this fuckin’ thing  _ off _ !”

“Oh dear, they collared him?” Harry came into the sitting room with a cup of steaming tea, only to set it on the coffee table in front of the couch, kneeling down in front of the poor mutant. “Let me see Darling, that’s it, I won’t hurt you,” Harry smiled sweetly at him and Eggsy swallowed hard before darting his gaze away, lowering his hands and tilting his chin up so Harry could poke and prod at the collar. “What those heathens do to you poor creatures is inhumane…” the man growled out and Eggsy was reminded of the fact that Harry was very much human- not a mutant like him or Aodhán.

“You married a human?” Eggsy scrunched his nose up, even though he knew he was being unfair. Harry had saved his life several times in the past three years, that he knows of, anyway, and not all humans were vile like Valentine or the officers at the station.

“You needn’t worry, lad,” Aodhán said with an amused smile, “Harry here was the one that started the protesting acts against mutant discrimination long before you were even born.” Eggsy ducked his head at that, before tilting it back up when Harry tutted at him. He immediately sighed in relief when the collar was removed- though he wasn’t surprised, given that humans are the only ones that can remove the collars anyway- and shifted the second he was able to, stretching out his limbs before darting past Harry and he curled up in front of the fire, ignoring the amused chuckling from Aodhán and the light laughter from Harry.

-0-

“Ta, you know… fer takin’ care ‘a me these past few days.” Eggsy scuffed the toe of his trainers against the floor, sighing softly. “But I should be gettin’ back. I’m sure ya both want me outta yer hair soon enough anyway, yeah?”

“What? Eggsy Darling, what on earth would make you think that?” Harry frowned at him and Eggsy blushed a little, ducking his head and shrugging his shoulders.

“Nothin’. ‘s just that… well, ‘m sure you an’ Aodhán want yer space back to yerselves an’-” he cut himself off with another little shrug and Harry sighed, closing his book and setting it on the side table beside his chair.

“Do you think that we don’t want you here?” Harry asked, seeming troubled for some reason and Eggsy hesitated in answering with what he thought the truth. His hesitation was enough for Harry though and the older man sighed, shaking his head, “Oh Eggsy… that’s hardly the truth. Aodhán and I want you here very much. As it is, we enjoy your company and it isn’t a bother to us if you want to stay.” Chuckling to himself now, Harry’s eyes sparkled with a little amusement at what he said next, “Seeing as you spend most of your time as a cat, you hardly take up any space to be a bother anyway.”

Sighing to himself, Eggsy let a small smile flit across his face, “Ta, fer the offer…” was all he said and when he saw Harry frowning, he knew immediately that the older man understood what that meant.

“Alright, my dear boy… but at the very least will you wait for Aodhán to get home so he may say goodbye as well?” Eggsy let himself nod, knowing in truth, that was indeed the very least he could do for the both of them, after everything they’d done for him.

-0-

“Our home is always open fer ya, wee lamb… don’t ferget that, alright?”

“I won’.”

“Good.”

-0-

Eggsy tried to stay away from them, he really did, but eventually his instincts for  _ home _ and  _ safe _ and  _ family _ led him back to their home. It was a cold fall night when he found himself sitting on the window sill outside the house, looking into the sitting room and he smiled, despite the heartache, at the sight of both men curled up on the couch, fast asleep, in front of the warm blazing fire.

It became a regular thing for him to find himself outside the house- sometimes he would be able to turn himself away and avoid the heartache until the next day, but other times it was inevitable.

He lost count how many times he’d come back to the house before he found out one small detail was very different the next time he visited. The basement window was open and though he didn’t know why, he kept that in mind the next time he visited.

He didn’t use the window to get inside until it started raining one day and unable to help it, he slipped inside, landing on the concrete flooring without a sound. Shaking his fur of water, he padded over to a relatively dry spot next to a heater and curled up, falling asleep immediately after.

After three rainy nights spent in the basement, Eggsy wasn’t very surprised to find a small cat bed with a warm fuzzy blanket and a bowl of water and treats next to it the next time he went down into the basement.

Eventually that too became a regular thing- he didn’t have a house of his own and enjoyed the warmth of the bed far more than a cold box out in the streets- until Eggsy found it was habit to slip inside the basement and seek out the warmth of the bed and the heater when he was tired.

So it shouldn’t have come as a surprise when, one day, he found a chair down in the basement beside his little cat bed and he smiled, curling up in the cat bed and picturing, if only to himself, nights where either Aodhán or Harry would sit in the chair with a book in their hands, reading to him as he curled up in their laps.

-0-

“Hello Eggsy, enjoy yourself?” Harry greeted him with a smile, sitting in the chair and Eggsy mewed his agreement, shaking the snow from his fur and he padded over to the food bowl, scrunching his nose up when he realized it was empty. “Come now, did you really think I would let you waste another night like this when you could enjoy a nice hot meal upstairs with Aodhán and I?” Harry smirked at him when Eggsy whined, pawing at his pants to get his attention.

Narrowing his eyes, Eggsy realized that was Harry’s intention all along, and he huffed before finally padding over to the stairs and he hopped up them, nudging at the door to go into the hallway. He heard Harry’s laughter follow after him, footsteps making their way up the stairs soon after, but he paid no mind to it and instead darted into the kitchen, jumping up onto the dining table.

“Eggsy,” Aodhán glared at him, “off the table when we’re about ta eat, laddie.”

Scrunching his nose up, Eggsy promptly sat down on the surface of the table, childish. He was very much unprepared for being lifted off the table- it was unfair that Aodhán had both telepathy and telekinesis- and dropped on the floor seconds after. Whining up at the older man, Eggsy finally shifted into his human form, sitting on the floor with his arms crossed, a pout on his lips. “Aw, c’mon guv, ‘m not doin’ any ‘arm sittin’ on the table like that, am I?”

“It’s fruitless to complain, Treasure, when he has his mind set on enforcing the rules,” Harry entered the kitchen with a smile, petting Eggsy on the head like he was still a cat- not that Eggsy minded. Half the ticks and pleasures Eggsy has as a cat carry over when he’s human, so he very much doesn’t mind being pet.

“What is Aodhán doin’ cookin’ anyway? Ain’t you the one that like has sole custody ‘a the kitchen ‘r whatever?” Eggsy asked with a cheeky grin and Harry chuckled when Aodhán rolled his eyes.

“It’s Friday my dear, the only day of the week that our dear Aodhán is able to cook to his heart’s content,” Harry answered with a teasing smile in Aodhán’s direction.

“I can just go next door and give these onion rings to the lovely Ms. Bree,” Harry panicked at that and Eggsy frowned, confused.

“Aodhán, my love, you needn’t go to such drastic measures, I was only teasing,” Harry wrapped his arms around the taller man, nuzzling against Aodhán’s neck to placate him, but Eggsy saw the smirk on Aodhán’s face, so he knew Harry was being teased. But…

“...onion rings?” Eggsy asked, not understanding what was so special about deep fried treats.

“Guinness Battered Onion Rings, wee lamb,” Aodhán answered, chuckling to himself, “Harry is quite gone for the treats.”

“Only when you, my heart, make them for me,” Harry purred, and if Eggsy didn’t know any better, he’d have thought Harry was in love with the treats instead of Aodhán. Eggys laughed when he saw Harry try to sneak an onion ring and Aodhán smacked his hand before he could.

“Off with ya, go on. I’ll not have you sneaking anything before supper is set,” Aodhán huffed and Harry did as told, sulking in that way that Harry did whenever Aodhán scolded him for something wrong. “Eggsy Darling, do ya mind setting the table?”

“Sure,” Eggsy smiled and went over to the cabinets, grabbing out plates and cups to set out on the table before grabbing the silverware from the drawers. By the time he was done setting the table, Aodhán was finished with the last minute details of the meal and soon enough all three sat at the table, enjoying dinner in warmth and loving company. “Ta fer dinner,” Eggsy purred, smile lighting up the entire dining area and Aodhán and Harry both smiled back, fondness and love filling their hearts at the utter love and delight found on Eggsy’s face.

“Yer welcome, my wee lamb,” Aodhán said, smiling a secret smile at Harry when the other man took his hand and brushed his lips across his knuckles.  _ Do ya think he understands, Harry? _ Aodhán asked and the only answer he needed was the light dimming from Harry’s eyes to understand that, no, Eggsy did not understand at all.  _ Oh, mo ghraidh… he will soon enough. At least, _ Aodhán looked at Eggsy, sighing softly to himself,  _ I certainly hope he will… _

-0-

“Ah, well if it isn’t the delightful little kitten that tried to steal from me,” Eggsy froze when he heard the familiar voice and he turned sharply, baring his fangs and narrowing his eyes at the man himself, Valentine. “I thought for sure you would have been in prison after your little stunt in my home.” the disdain was clear in his words even if there was a smile on the man’s face and Eggsy snorted.

“Funny that, mate,” Eggsy muttered, “prison life just ain’t fer me.” Eggsy turned back towards the shelves and grabbed a package of ginger nuts for Harry and some more tea leaves for Aodhán. He had only accepted enough money for these two items, no matter how much he would have wanted to grab a piece of jerky from the shelves next to the ginger nuts.

“Oh I have no doubt,” Valentine smirked, brushing past Eggsy and he grabbed a piece of jerky for himself, taunting him with it, “And are we sure we don’t owe the reason of your freedom to the men you’ve been staying with recently?” Eggsy stiffened up at the mention of Aodhán and Harry and he hissed at Valentine.

“You leave them alone! They ain’t done nothin’ to ya, ya ‘ear me?” Eggsy growled, threatened and Valentine tilted his head.

“Oh no, I wouldn’t dare. Besides, they’re not the ones I want,” Valentine said and Eggsy’s breath hitched in fear at the dangerous look in his eyes. His fight or flight instincts kicking in and Valentine snickered. “I wonder if your lovers would care enough to save you once they figure out you’ve disappeared? Or if they think you simply just… ran away?”

They were in public, surely Valentine wouldn’t try anything. “They… t-they ain’t my lovers.” Eggsy swallowed hard and tensed, bristling when Valentine brushed past him again, making his way to the register.

“No?” Valentine smirked at him, and then frowned when he seemed to realize something. “Of course you don’t think so,” the man laughed then, “too bad really. You might have fought more if you’d have known.”

Valentine was gone before Eggsy could say anything more and the shifter clutched tightly to the ginger nuts, fear clogging his throat at the clear threats and promises from the man.  _ Fought more… I-I don’ understand… What the fuck did ‘e mean by that? _ Shaking his head to rid his thoughts, he quickly went up to the register, paid for the tea leaves and the ginger nuts, before finally making his way back home.

-0-

“Eggsy, dear, what’s wrong?” Harry frowned at him when he returned home and Eggsy swallowed hard before shaking his head in answer, handing over the ginger nuts and he made his way into the kitchen to put away the tea leaves, leaning against the counter afterwards to try ad regain his breath and slow his still racing heart beat.

_ Eggsy… why are you so scared? _ Eggsy started at hearing the voice in his head, but only glance sideways to see Aodhán standing in the kitchen doorway, concerned and worried.

“I-it’s nothin’ guv, don’ worry ‘bout me, okay?” Eggsy tried, giving a strained smile before he frowned, deciding to ask the question he wanted. “Why is Valentine still out there?” Aodhán seemed alarmed at this and he took two quick strides to reach the younger man, putting both his hands against Eggsy’s skin, as if checking to see if he was harmed. “O-oi! Cut that out!” Eggsy stepped away, a little annoyed now. “Answer me, Aodhán. Ya promised me you were gonna take care ‘a ‘im ‘fore he harmed any innocent mutants!”

“We tried, but he… Eggsy, lad, he disappeared, went without a trace, before we could close in on him,” Aodhán seemed frustrated at this. “Where did ya see him? Did he say anything ta you? What happened?”

Eggsy frowned at him, wondering if he should tell Aodhán about Valentine threatening him, but in the end, he only shook his head, “Nothin’. ‘e di’n’ say nothin’ ta me.” He brushed past Aodhán and sighed, “Tea leaves ‘r in the cabinet, mate, ‘m gonna ‘ead off ta bed.”

“Okay Eggsy,” Aodhán sighed, resigned it seemed, “have sweet dreams, wee lamb.”

-0-

True to his word, Eggsy went to bed early that night, curling up in his little cat bed, but that night his dreams were not sweet and were instead plagued by laughter, dark eyes, pain, and Valentine’s threats to do him harm.

The next few days Eggsy had been on edge and his nights, when he chose to sleep, were filled with more nightmares.

-0-

Eggsy went out for a run, in the freezing, biting rain, a week later, fed up with the tension and the fear that had been building inside him since his encounter with Valentine. Aodhán and Harry had tried to get him to talk, but it had gotten to the point where he’d snapped at them the last time they cornered him. He felt guilty when he saw the claws marks on Aodhán’s cheek and Harry’s hands, but nothing could be done about that now.

What’s done is done, or however the saying goes and shit.

He was in the heart of the city when he decided to slow to a halt, shifting from cat to human, and he was unbothered by how soaked he was, his clothes clinging uncomfortably like a second skin. There wasn’t anyone else around, aside from the spare car or taxi that drove by every few minutes, so he took the time to gather himself, practicing his apology for when he got back home.

Aodhán and Harry would be worried about him, for sure. And Eggsy felt guilty enough without adding that to the long list of things he needed to apologize to the two for.

Looking around, Eggsy sighed and then turned back around, not even bothering to shift as he started his way back home, wondering if he’d get a cold with how long he’d been out here.

He barely made it two steps before the phone booth beside him started ringing and he flinched, tensing up almost immediately. Staring at the box, he frowned, eyes narrowed, wondering why it was ringing- there wasn’t anybody else around him that would probably be expecting a call, but you never know. A minute later and the ringing stopped, but Eggsy only had another minute of silence before it started ringing again, and against every other instinct he had, he went inside to answer the phone.

_ “H-hello?” _ Eggsy went from suspicious to alarmed in three seconds flat, hearing the pain in the girl’s voice through the phone.

“What’s yer name luv? How comes yer callin’ a phone booth?” Eggsy asked, wondering if maybe he was being an idiot asking those questions, but you know- curiosity has a way of getting the best of a cat.

_ “G-Gazelle… h-he told me to call. S-said you’d answer. P-please help me!” _ she immediately cried out and Eggsy tensed, bristling.

“Who’s he? Who told you to call?” Eggsy asked, even though, deep in his heart, he already knew the answer.

_ “I-I don’t know, a-a man. H-he said you can r-rescue me!”  _ she started crying and Eggsy’s breath hitched, knowing then that it was a trap. But fuck if he cared.

“Where’ya?” Eggsy demanded to know and almost immediately the girl answered, voice broken and heart racing- Eggsy could hear it even from the phone.

_ “A-a warehouse by the-the clock tower, ne-near the r-river. P-please hurry! I-it hurts!” _ the call immediately disconnected after Eggsy heard her terrified and pained cry and Eggsy didn’t even connect the phone back to the hook before he was tearing out of the booth and down the streets, anger and fear thrumming through his veins.

“Valentine!!” he roared, knowing it was pointless, but it helped only a little to gain control of at least some of his emotions.  _ You  _ promised _ Aodhán. An’ you fucking  _ lied _! _

-0-

Taking to the rooftops, it didn’t take long for Eggsy to reach the warehouse, where he could hear Gazelle’s terrified crying from inside, and he spotted two guards at the entrance. Using surprise and gravity to his advantage, he took out the first guard easily, before tackling the second, forcing the guard to the ground and cracking his head against the concrete walls of the warehouse.

Viciously satisfied, Eggsy shifted into a cat again and tore through the halls of the warehouse before he finally reached the main storage room. Shifting back into human, he let out a triumphant noise, only to freeze when he heard Valentine’s voice. “Ah, there you are. I’m afraid I thought it would take you a bit longer to get here. I haven’t had near enough time to prepare for your arrival,” despite his words, when Eggsy turned to face the man himself, he was smirking. “Gazelle?”

Eggsy didn’t have enough time to register the feeling of betrayal before he saw Gazelle stand up from where she’d been ‘tied up’ and she pointed a gun at him, but he was too slow. A pinprick of pain made itself known the second she pulled the trigger and he howled with the agony that bloomed afterwards, spots dancing in his vision before he finally blacked out, crumbling to the ground beneath him.

-0-

When he woke up, he groaned, pain making itself known in little jolts and he realized, terrified, that he was tied up and a collar was around his neck again. He struggled and cried out, heart beating a mile a minute and he knew he was having a panic attack. He tried to calm himself down, but it was impossible.

He hadn’t had a panic attack since his mother died.

“Good, you’re awake. Now the fun can begin!” Valentine’s voice brought him back to the surface, but it only felt like a bucket of ice was dumped over his head and he jerked his head up, glaring daggers at the man in question. Baring his teeth and digging his fingernails into his own skin, he barely cared about the blood that dropped to the concrete below, snarling at the man in his anger and terror. “Oh now that’s a wonderful sight, a mutant reduced to base urges out of fear for the superior species. I’m almost sorry I’m about to kill you. You’d make such a lovely pet, I have no doubt about that.”

Eggsy jerked away from him when he thought Valentine was about to reach for him, but Valentine only brushed past him, laughing to himself all the while.

“There is a reason I called you here, you know? I wanted to show you my lovely little creation. I made it just for you, after all. And it would be a shame if I didn’t show you what it did.” Valentine said and came back into Eggsy’s view with a syringe full of sickly green liquid. Eggsy thrashed around when he recognised the serum that Valentine claimed to be the ‘cure for mutants’ and Valentine smirked. “So I see you know what this is, how delightful. I altered the serum a bit, at least, this vial anyway, just for you. It will kill you, yes, but before it does, it will strip you of every bit of humanity you’ve ever had in your short pathetic little life and tear you apart from the inside out.”

Valentine made to move closer and Eggsy hissed at him, snapping at him when he dared to get too close. Valentine glared right back when this happened before taking a hold of the hair on his head, jerking his head back to show Eggsy just who was in control.

“Don’t think for a second you have any control here, cat. I may be only human, but I’ve got you collared and tied at my mercy.” Valentine snapped at him and Eggsy growled, low in his throat, like a cornered cat about to strike. “It’s a wonder what the two most powerful men saw in you. You’re a stray. A stupid little animal. And just like any animal, you can never seem to understand when you’re not wanted. They feed you once and you become attached. Pathetic.”

Eggsy whined at that, shaking his head, trembling now, and Valentine smirked, vicious and triumphant.

“Oh, I always thought, but I didn’t actually figure… The pretty little mutant… has fallen in love with the humans that took him in. Such a shame… they’ll never see you again.” Eggsy couldn’t do a thing when Valentine stuck the needle into his neck.

Eggsy screamed.

-0-

Pain. Anger. Helplessness. Terror.

Gunshots. Screams. Smoke. Fire.  _ Blood _ .

Whispers. Pleas.  _ Oh Eggsy… Treasure… Wee lamb. _

More pain.

More blood.

_ God _ , it tasted so  _ awful _ .

_ I’m so sorry… _

Then… nothing.

-0-

Eggsy woke up, pain in his head and everywhere else, and he groaned. He couldn’t open his eyes, not yet, but that hardly mattered yet. Even though his body was in pain, it felt like he was floating on a cloud-  _ no… _ bed. He was on a bed. A very  _ familiar _ bed.

Groaning again, Eggsy grimaced, swallowing hard and he scrunched his nose up when he tasted blood- the metallic taste old and gross.

“Shh, it’s okay Eggsy, Darling,” Eggsy immediately recognized it to be Harry’s voice and he relaxed, only slightly, but still the taste in his mouth was just… so  _ awful _ . He couldn’t focus on anything else- surely it wasn’t  _ his _ blood? His own blood had never tasted so bad. So… that means he bit someone else. And that right there was a thought that didn’t sit well in his stomach- even if maybe it was Valentine that he bit.

_ Shit _ .

“Valentine!” Eggsy sat up sharply, before crying out when the pain exploded into sudden awareness, coming to the foremost part of his mind.

“Eggsy!” Harry scolded him, pushing him back to lay against the bed. Eggsy cracked his eyes open and balked with he saw the bruises on Harry’s face and the scratches on his arms and neck.

“D-did I… did I do t-that…?” Eggsy trembled at the thought and when he saw Harry’s expression soften to something like pity, he knew the answer to that question. “O-oh God, ‘m so sorry… I-I di’n’ mean ta, I swear-” Eggsy felt pinpricks against the corners of his eyes and he blinked rapidly, trying not to cry.

“Shh, love, you have nothing to apologize for,” Harry sighed softly, brushing some of Eggsy’s hair from his face. “Aodhán and I were so worried when you’d been gone for more than an hour… and the storm rolled in so fast that we thought we should go out and look for you before something truly awful happened.” Harry closed his eyes and swallowed hard. “We had no idea Valentine had captured you until we got a call… Valentine had taunted us, saying how you were going to be the first mutant to fall to his serum. We thought the worst. The prick… then were heard you in the background and we-” Harry cut himself off and Eggsy made a wounded sound in the back of his throat.

“I-I don’ remember nothin’ afta’ bein’ given the serum… I-I think I lost my mind…” Eggsy shook his head sharply and then snapped it up, eyes wide, when he heard the door open. “Aodhán…” his voice broke here. “‘m so sorry… P-please fergive me! I-I never thought t-this would ‘appen…!” That was when he saw the blood soaked bandages around the older man’s right forearm and he froze, thinking the worst. “A-Aodhán…” he breathed out, horrified at himself.

“Eggsy…” Aodhán walked over to him, setting down a tray of tea and soup. He had no idea what Eggsy planned to do however and was surprised when Eggsy snatched up his wrist, tearing away the bandages the second he could. “Eggsy! Stop!” It was too late though, because the bandages fell, in tatters, on the bed and Eggsy choked on his breath, tears falling down his cheeks.

“‘s yer blood… o-oh God… I-I  _ bit _ you… I-I bit…” he choked on the words and threw himself away from the two men, the headboard knocking hard against the wall. Aodhán wasn’t about to let him escape, however, and the older man sat down on the bed, gathering Eggsy in his arms, holding onto him tightly.

“Oh wee lamb… it’s okay… It’s not yer fault. It was never yer fault. Valentine’s serum… it made you lose yer humanity fer a moment, that’s all, okay? The important thing is that yer okay, yer alive.” Aodhán said, and Eggsy broke down at the words.

Harry sat on the other side, sharing a look with Aodhán before the two decided the most important thing right now was to stay there, with the younger man, whispering sweet nothings in his ears. Eggsy could do nothing, sandwiched between the two, but cry and cling to them, blubbering apologies and other words that became incomprehensible after only a few minutes.

He had no idea how long they just sat there before he finally calmed down enough, exhausted. “We’re so sorry that you had to go through that… can you ever forgive us, Darling?” Harry asked and Eggsy sighed, blinking sleepily up at them.

Instead of answering, Eggsy asked his own question, “Why ‘m I so special…? ‘m just a stupid little stray… an’ you two are so perfect… why would you ever bother wif someone like me?”

“Oh Eggsy… yer so much more to us than that. And you know that,” Aodhán said, whispering the words and Eggsy closed his eyes relaxing only slightly, “don’t ya?”

“I… I think ‘m startin’ ta…” he murmured, smiling only a little when he felt two brief, small kisses- one against his temple and another against his bared shoulder. “‘Luv ya…” Eggsy added, as an afterthought, drifting slowly into sleep, after exhausting himself with his tears.

“We love you too, Treasure…” Harry said.

“Aye, wee lamb, and we always will.” Aodhán added.

Eggsy’s smile stayed with him even after sleep claimed him.


End file.
